Old Big East becomes American Athletic

The American Athletic Conference will be the new name for the former Big East Conference, ESPN reported, adding that the new name could become official as early as Thursday.

The old Big East needed a new name when the Catholic 7 schools -- DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's and Villanova -- kept the Big East name when it announced it was splitting apart and forming its new league.

Commissioner Mike Aresco had favored renaming the league the America 12 Conference, but league presidents felt it was important not to include a number in the name.

The American Athletic Conference will look nothing like the old Big East.

In addition to the Catholic 7's departure, the league will lose Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC on July 1. In 2014, Louisville departs for the ACC and Rutgers heads to the Big Ten.

To offset those losses, the American Athletic Conference will add full members UCF, Houston, Memphis and SMU on July 1. On July 1, 2014, East Carolina, Tulane and Tulsa will join the AAC and Navy will join as a football-only member on July 1, 2015.

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